Who is Myles O'Neal? Taking a closer look at Shaquille O'Neal's son's personal life
NBA legend and Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal has six children, with his stepson, Myles O'Neal, arguably the most different.
The 25-year-old is the oldest of his sons and the second-eldest child. Myles is not Diesel's biological child, though. He was born to Shaunie O'Neal, Shaq's ex-wife, but the family embraced him as one of their own. He was five years old when his mother, Shaunie, and O'Neal married in 2002.
huffp.st/taBFc7O
Bet you didn’t know Shaq’s son, Myles O’Neal, is a runway model 👏huffp.st/taBFc7O https://t.co/KiMeGxfE76
He is certainly the odd one out as he doesn't play basketball like his father, who is an LA Lakers legend. He chose a career in fashion and modeling while his siblings chose the life of an athlete. In an interview with Coveteur, he talked about his relationship with the sport that his family is known for.
"I played basketball for most of my life," O'Neal said. "I love basketball. I just knew from a young age that I don’t want to be in the NBA. I just saw what comes from being in the NBA.
"My brothers and sisters are super into basketball, and my brother is going to play basketball at college next year. … But every day at least five people will DM me and say, 'Why don’t you play basketball?' They'll comment on my picture: 'You're the only (one) who doesn't play basketball. SMH.'"
His step siblings – Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir and Me'arah – all play basketball at some organized level. His oldest stepsister, Taahirah, is also an exception as she works at PespiCo as a marketing specialist.
Myles and his father, Shaquille O'Neal, will perform together at the Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas as the "O'Neal Boys."
What does Shaquille O'Neal's son, Myles, do?
Shaquille O'Neal's son, Myles O'Neal, is pursuing a career quite different from sports and is excelling in his field. He believes you don't need to buy expensive clothes to look good and fashion is something anyone can get interested in. In the interview with Coveteur, he said:
"Having style and wearing nice clothes are completely different things. I see a lot (of) people, and they'll just buy nice clothes — it might not even be something that looks good on them. But they'll just buy it because it's Balmain or because it's Gucci. You don't have to buy expensive clothes or name brands to look good in them.
"I think you can look good in anything that's going to represent you."
Myles O'Neal has worked with and represented brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Givenchy, Michael Kors, Under Armour and Disney. He has walked the ramp for many of these brands and is gaining recognition as one of the best models in the industry. According to Best Life:
"He's even been photographed out and about with Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee, the model children of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. He's also modeled alongside Kaia Gerber, the lookalike daughter of Cindy Crawford."
From Kendall Jenner to Myles O'Neal, these children of celebrities are killing it on the runways https://t.co/U5XXItQKL8
Myles O'Neal told Paper Magazine that he developed his early love for fashion because of musician Pharrell Williams, who knew his father.
"We were literally leaving the Beverly Hills Hotel, and Pharrell was there," Myles O'Neal said. "He ran up to my dad and was like, 'Yo, I'm gonna send your kids, like, some of my brands, like BBC and Ice Cream stuff.' We get back to Miami, and we get this huge box of clothes. I think that was the day that I really thought about looking nice."
Additionally, he has also appeared on television on his mother's show, "Basketball Wives," after his 13th birthday. He was on the show occasionally and later appeared with his family on a show called "Shaunie's Home Court."